More than 25 years ago, Saroo Brierley lived in rural India. One day, he played with his brother along the rail line and fell asleep. When he woke up and found himself alone, the 4-year-old decided his brother might be on the train he saw in front of him — so he got on.

That train took him a thousand miles across the country to a totally strange city. He lived on the streets, and then in an orphanage (孤儿院). There, he was adopted by an Australian family and flown to Tasmania.

As he writes in his new book, A Long Way Home, Brierley couldn’t help but wonder about his hometown back in India. He remembered landmarks, but since he didn’t know his town’s name, finding a small neighborhood in a vast country proved to be impossible.

Then he found a digital mapping program. He spent years searching for his hometown in the program’s satellite pictures. In 2011, he came across something familiar. He studied it and realized he was looking at a town’s central business district from a bird’s-eye view. He thought, “On the right-hand side you should see the three-platform train station” — and there it was.” And on the lef-hand side you should see a big fountain” — and there it was. Everything just started to match.

When he stood in front of the house where he grew up as a child, he saw a lady standing in the entrance. “There’s something about me,” he thought-and it took him a few seconds but he finally reminisced about what she used to look like.

In an interview Brierley says, “My mother looked so much shorter than I remembered. But she came forth and walked forward, and I walked forward, and my feelings and tears and the chemical in my brain, you know, it was like a nuclear fusion (核聚变). I just didn’t know what to say, because I never thought seeing my mother would ever come true. And here I am, standing in front of her.”

ROSS TOWNSHIP, OHIO—Some Ohio high school students are regional winners in a national contest after inventing a mobile device app that helps needy families find local food pantries (食品储藏室).

And someday the teens, who are students at Ross High School in Ross Township, may be selling the app to food pantries and food banks across America.

Their “Smart-Pantry” app has won the local U. S. Congressional App Challenge, which spans 47 states and territories, for the 8th Congressional District that includes their Butler County school system of Ross Schools.

Created as part of computer science class coordinated by Butler Tech career school system at the high school—three students, Jacob Kahmann, Gunner Nonnamber and Kyle Inderhees, recently were visited by Congressman Warren Davidson, R-Troy. Davidson issued a statement praising the teens for creating “this app to set the standard for efficient food collection and distribution.”

Butler Tech IT Instructor Tom O’Neill said the students’ app includes features that help users locate the nearest food pantry, improve food collection procedures and allows pantries to better monitor for fraud (欺骗) by users, and the national challenge provides a real-life learning opportunity for his students.

“The Congressional App Challenge provides my students with an opportunity to develop solutions to real-world problems. This app helps people locate food pantries and is designed to increase efficiency at food pantries and food banks,” said O’Neill.

The students are continuing to add features to the app and are working on turning it into a commercial product, said O’Neill, who in recent years helped numerous Ross High School teens win national honors for their computer-science-based inventions.

Brian Martin, principal of Ross High School, said it’s “extremely exciting” to watch students excel on the state, national and international stages.

“The staff and students in the Ross school district continue to amaze me with their future-thinking and innovation,” said Brian Martin. “Our students are not only thinking about carecrs, they are thinking about problems and issues they want to change, solve or improve. The app that was created is very unique and will make serving a population in need more efficient.”

The three inventors will be invited in the spring to a Congressional App Challenge hosted by Congress in the nation’s capital.

You are watching your favorite TV show when a commercial break starts. First you see an ad for candy. Then there is one for fast food. Your stomach growls. Suddenly, all you can think about is how much you need a snack.

If that sounds familiar, you are not alone. Researchers from McMaster University in Canada studied the effects of junk food ad. The researchers examined the effects of advertising junk food on more than 6000 kids through TV commercials and other types of media. They found that kids made unhealthy food and drink choices as quickly as 30 minutes after seeing the ads.

Food and drink ads are everywhere from TV to the Internet. Companies want to make sure you know about their products. They spend nearly 1. 8 billion a year on food ads aimed at kids according to a report.

The Nielsen Company tracked the number of food ads that kids saw in 2015. It found that kids watched nearly 12 food ads on TV each day. Most of these ads weren’t for healthy foods. In fact, on average. kids saw only one ad per week for fruits and vegetables. Instead, most of the ads were for fast food, candy and sugary drinks.

Jennifer Harris, a professor at the University of Connecticut, says this is a big part of the problem. “Unhealthy foods are not things we should be encouraging kids to cat more often”. Harris says. “But unfortunately those are the products being advertised to them the most”.

Health experts say it’s OK to treat yourself to a cookie once in a while. But what can you do to keep from having an unhealthy snack every time you see an ad for junk food? Harris says it’s important to learn to spot the techniques companies use in their ads, tell their kids what is going on and help kids think about whether these products are good for them.

Dave had loved basketball for as long as he could remember and he had never had a day without playing it. At primary school and junior high school he joined basketball clubs, attended training programs and watched basketball games, from which he learned the moves of the star players, wishing to play in a professional team like them and shine on the court.

Now as a senior high school student, however, his dream of becoming a professional player was dimming (变暗) because he was only of average height. He had to give up the hope of joining the school team. The guys on the school team were all tall boys who played matches and won honors for the school. They were like heroes. Dave watched them play and cheered them but he knew he would never be one of them.

Dave felt it a pity not to be tall enough, but this didn’t stop him from pouring his passion into basketball. He just played for the love of the sport. He played in the school gym with other boys or by himself every day, even during holidays and weekends, when it was open for two hours in the morning. He enjoyed every minute on the court making every effort to play better.

It was one Saturday morning. Dave was playing in the gym by himself, as all the other boys were busy with other weekend affairs. Then he noticed a tall boy approaching. It was Lankas. Everybody knows him as captain of the school basketball team. “Hi, Lankas,” Dave greeted him. “My name is Dave.” “Hi, Dave,” Lankas replied as he got closer. “Nice to see you here. Do you need an opponent (对手) to play against?” Dave was shocked, frozen right there, unable to believe his ears but somehow, he answered, “Why not?” So, a game of two players began. During the game, Dave went all out to play against this opponent, forgetting all about his height. It was a game he could play to his heart’s content. It was more like an enjoyment than a challenge. “Can we meet again?” Lankas asked.

“Where are you going to college?” “I’m going to my local community college.” My answer seemed to be the magic phrase that would wipe the smile right off many people’s faces. It’s clear that people have a lot of misconceptions (误解) about community colleges.

Many people think community colleges are only for people who couldn’t get into a four-year school. But it is not true. In high school, I always got A’s. But when it came to applying to colleges, I had no idea what I wanted to major in and couldn’t justify spending thousands of dollars at a 4-year school until I knew what I wanted to do. My parents were very supportive of my decision to attend the community college.

Some people will ask, “Since the community college is cheaper, will you get a good education?” I found that nearly all of my professors taught the same courses at 4-year colleges. My professors were knowledgeable and experienced, and I found many of the courses challenging.

Some people think if I attend the community college, I will miss out on the “college experience”. I must admit that this is something I worried about a great deal the summer before college. But I soon learned that the community college, just like any other college, is what you make of it. I strived to make the most of my time at the community college. I also made tons of friends by joining clubs and attending student government meetings.

I took a lot of different courses. I had an amazing professor who suggested I take her journalism class. Never having written for my high school newspapers, I dared not take it, but since she was so enthusiastic, I eventually decided to have a try. That one course was all it took for me to realize that I wanted to become a journalist.

I look forward to graduating this May to pursue a career in broadcast journalism. Community colleges may not be for everyone, but for me it is a life-changing experience that has helped me discover who I am and the person I hope to become.

My students and I were ready for a challenge — a trip to Costa Rica. As we were waiting at the airport, we talked about our hopes and fears for our ten — day trip. My students worried about homesickness and felt uneasy with their homestay families. But strange foods or meeting new people didn’t concern me. What terrified me was the best part of the trip — a zip lining(滑缆绳) flight over the jungle valley bordering Arenal Volcano. I made a secret pact(协议) with myself to find an excuse to get out of it at the last minute.

When the fateful day arrived, we got to the peak to enjoy the breathtaking view of the volcano. When seeing the activity, my students raised a cheerful shout. How I wished I had had the same feeling as them. However, I was afraid of heights.

My student Eileen sidled up to me. Her face was pale. “I’m scared,” she whispered. “Will you stay back with me?” Here was my chance! I could get out of zip lining and still save face!

“I’m scared, too,” I said quietly.

“Yeah,” she said. “I thought you would be the right person to ask because you are really white, and you are sweating.” Her words woke me up, and something clicked into place. If I couldn’t step outside of my comfort zone, how could I ask the kids to do so?

“Maybe we should give it a try,” I said. I felt a little sick, but I couldn’t believe my body was actually moving toward the launch point.

“Come on,” I said. “OK,” she agreed.

Eileen zipped past me, screaming with fear or delight, which I was not sure of. Once she was across, I followed. The attempt was not as terrible as I had thought. From that moment on, I knew there was nothing to fear as long as I walked out of my comfort zone and had a try.